Inc. Magazine has named Jenny Groberg, CEO and founder of BookSmarts Accounting and Bookkeeping, as an honoree of the prestigious Female Founders 500 list. Before this year, only two women from Utah had received this recognition in the eight years since the list began.
High demand for employees combined with opportunities for remote work and a surge in female entrepreneurs are sending a flood of women into the labor market. Moms have new opportunities with remote work, yet are still on the hook for family responsibilities.
Founder and CEO Jenny Groberg shares powerful reasoning for why businesses should consider hiring a bookkeeper long before tax season hits.
When it comes to choosing the right accounting software, we know the options can be overwhelming. Our recent social media post touched on some popular choices like Xero, QuickBooks Online, and Sage. But if you’re still unsure about which software is the best fit for your business, don’t stress—you’re not alone.
Not only can BookSmarts’ accountants and bookkeepers work within any system you currently have in place, we can help you choose and set up the accounting software that best supports your financial goals. Whether you’re just starting out and need a simple solution to manage day-to-day transactions, or you’re scaling up and require a more robust platform with advanced features like multi-entity management or comprehensive reporting, we’ve got you covered.
For those who want to dive deeper into their options, we recommend checking out NerdWallet’s detailed comparison chart. It offers an in-depth analysis of the top 8 accounting platforms for businesses, weighing the pros and cons of each to help you make an informed choice.
Remember, the key is not to get stuck in analysis paralysis. Choosing something is better than choosing nothing at all. And when your business grows or your preferences change down the road, we’re here to help you transition to a better-fitting solution with ease.
Our commitment to your success doesn’t end once your accounting system is up and running. We provide ongoing support to ensure you and your team are fully equipped to leverage the software’s capabilities. With our expert guidance, you can navigate the platform with confidence, avoid common pitfalls, and get the most out of your investment.
Ready to take the next step? Give us a call, and let’s find the right financial management tools for your business together.
Jenny Groberg, CEO and founder of BookSmarts Accounting and Bookkeeping and a work-from-home mom of five children, says that her “three older kids will do everything possible to work from home [or] remotely rather than in an office. The flexibility of remote work and the realization that I was able to successfully provide for the family while keeping them as my main focus as they grew up has opened their eyes and is driving them to work ‘smarter not harder,’” she adds.
Kids these days are also moving into the workforce with the expectation that nobody should have to work for a long span of time without room for coffee with a friend or a long lunch break to walk outside. “I think we see a bit of this effect in the current group of young people who are moving into the work sphere,” says Bonnie Scott, MA, LPC-S, a licensed professional counselor at Mindful Kindness Counseling and parent to a 10-year-old. “They are more likely to decentralize work in their lives, and they have boundaries around their personal time. They tend to flex the traditional work hours to meet their own schedule needs, so they work the required hours [and] get things done, but not in the typical eight-hour stretch.”
When learning about Groberg’s story, I realized that it might be fine—and even a sign that things are going well—if kids don’t know all the nuances of their parents’ work lives and related finances.
Groberg shares that “for 17 years, my children didn’t see or value the work I did remotely. They were oblivious to the fact that I contributed to the family finances. In fact, it was necessary for me to contribute and pay my husband’s way for school and residency and dig us out of student debt after only two years. For 17 years they also had no idea that my side hustle grew into a very successful company, but I am OK with that.
“I’m grateful because that means they didn’t feel neglected. My remote work enabled me to be at home with them and be present when they needed me. I am not offended that they don’t value my work as important as my husband’s employment. They know now what I did and that I was there for them, and that is what is most meaningful to me. For this reason, I will do everything I can to grow my company so I can offer more work to stay-at-home moms.”
Unexpected expenses like parking tickets, minor home repairs, or a small financial hiccup can happen anytime and derail your budget if you haven’t planned for unforeseen issues. But a rainy day fund can help you deal with life’s mishaps without dipping into savings.
A rainy day fund is “usually thought of as readily available cash savings to cover relatively minor unexpected expenses that come up in day-to-day living – without having to rush for the credit card,” consumer finance expert Kyle Enright, president of Achieve Lending, explained. “These expenses might include things like a repair on a needed appliance, a vehicle repair, or a trip to the doctor or urgent care not covered by insurance.”
A rainy day fund differs from an emergency fund, which is “meant for unfortunate life events that last longer than one day, usually more like months. Think of job loss, a chronic medical condition, the loss of your breadwinner, etc,” Jenny Groberg, CEO of BookSmarts Accounting and Bookkeeping, told us.
‘It Felt Like a Secret Hidden In Plain Sight’
As part of their How to Unlock Your First Million Dollars issue, Entrepreneur Magazine sat down with CEO Jenny Groberg to talk about how she learned to delegate in the wake of a sudden traumatic brain injury. The injury forced her to step back and consider new ways to run her business.
Through opening up about the company’s finances and profit-sharing with her COO, Emily Van Brocklin, Groberg was able to focus on her health, and later, on the growth of BookSmarts.
“‘That should be the role of every CEO, to delegate as much as you possibly can [to] go out and keep building,’ Groberg says. Being able to divide the work paid off; with over 50% client growth, it was the first year that BookSmarts surpassed $1 million in revenue.”
When Groberg returned full-time to the business, delegating meant she could play to her strengths and really hone in on outreach and sales. That year, BookSmarts grew by 50% and hit the million-dollar revenue mark for the first time.
The article includes insights from nine other up-and-coming business owners, including things like revisiting your big idea, catering to your ideal customer instead of your own preferences, launching variations of the hero product, flexible packaging, being open to a new business model, embracing the scrappiness of a startup, and investing in the credibility of your company.
Groberg’s story highlights the broader theme of flexibility and adaptation that many successful founders have embraced. Ben Witte of Recess, adjusted his product line from CBD-infused drinks to those with magnesium L-threonate to navigate regulatory challenges. Sophia Edelstein and Nathan Kondamuri of Pair Eyewear reengineered their manufacturing process to meet customer demands for more styles, resulting in explosive growth. Loren Castle of Sweet Loren’s reformulated her cookie dough to cater to allergen-sensitive customers, carving out a unique market niche. These founders, like Groberg, show that reassessing and adapting business strategies can unlock substantial growth and success.
You can read the full article in the May/June print edition of Entrepreneur.
If you are ready to take your business to new heights, partner with BookSmarts today and let us handle your financial needs while you focus on what you do best: growing your business.
Summer is expensive for families. With the kids home from school, your grocery bills will undoubtedly go up. If you pay for daycare or summer camp, that can also eat a big chunk out of your household budget.
If you’re planning for a vacation? Gas or airline fares, hotel prices and convenience food can quickly devour your budget. A recent GOBankingRates survey revealed that more than 57% of Americans plan to stick to a budget this summer. On the heels of Memorial Day weekend, we’ve got 50 expert tips to help you save over the next several months.
Use Rewards and Apps To Find the Cheapest Gas Locally
Even if you’ve boosted your car’s fuel efficiency, you can reduce the price you pay at the pump.
“Gas in the car is often expensive in the summer,” said Jenny Groberg, CEO and founder of BookSmarts Accounting and Bookkeeping. “Optimize your local gas points, whether that’s Kroger (Smith’s) store savings, local Costco or your local gas station membership.”
She mentioned that you can sometimes fill up two gas tanks back to back before hitting the limit of $1 off per gallon, per month at Kroger. “Plan ahead with your partner and meet at Kroger together with two cars and fill up the tanks back to back in one transaction,” she said.
The 60/30/10 budgeting method has been gaining popularity lately, but is it a wise approach?
Jenny Groberg, the founder and CEO of BookSmarts Accounting and Bookkeeping, said that she finds the trend concerning. While it may help you today, it could put your future at risk. Here’s a closer look at why.
What Is the 60/30/10 Budgeting Method?
The 60/30/10 budgeting method involves allotting 60% of your monthly income toward your needs, 30% toward your wants and 10% toward your savings.
The format may look familiar as it follows the same structure as the long-standing 50/30/20 budgeting method. However, the key difference is it moves 10% from the “savings” bucket to the “needs” bucket.
“People may be unable to use the 50/30/20 budget right now because their needs are more than 50% of their income,” Kendall Meade, a certified financial planner at SoFi, said. While that can be OK for a period, she urges people to try and get close to the 50/30/20 framework over time. “That 10% may not be enough to achieve your goals like retirement, down payments, etc.,” she said.
Groberg gave a similar warning. “This trend concerns me because people will never be able to save for homes, for retirement, for unforeseen medical or other emergent problems.”
If you’re working on your return, you’re not alone: most—about 52%—of e-filed returns have been self-prepared. That number is dropping as the season progresses, which isn’t unusual. Professionally prepared returns accounted for 29,644,000 of e-filed returns received so far in 2024. That’s according to recent tax filing season data, which also indicates that, as of March 8, 2024, the IRS had received 62,761,000 tax returns, about 49% of the expected total for the year.
If you are tackling your return, you may be ready to pull your hair out over the complexity of the rules—including those that seemingly change every other year, like the entertainment and meal tax deduction, the mileage tax deduction, and deductions targeted to small businesses.
And if you’re looking at your tax bill and wondering how you might be able to avoid a similar result next year, maybe it’s time to reconsider asset location. That doesn’t mean literally moving the physical location of your investments to say, Cleveland—it means thinking about how your funds are invested. You might be able to save yourself tens of thousands of dollars by reshuffling positions between taxable and tax-sheltered accounts, like IRAs.
I spent some time this week talking with tax professionals about how taxpayers can ease some of the associated stress. It likely won’t surprise you that they suggested you ask for help. One place to start? Hire a bookkeeper. There are obvious reasons to seek out help, like tax savings, but don’t discount longer-term benefits, like reducing your audit risk. Nicole Davis, the founder and CEO of Butler-Davis Tax & Accounting, explains that the IRS and other tax authorities rely on data metrics. That means the IRS is comparing you to other businesses in your category. You can raise red flags by mischaracterizing one expense—say, advertising—as another expense—like travel—because it might not make sense for your business category. And beyond taxes, Jenny Groberg, CEO of BookSmarts Accounting and Bookkeeping, says business owners should consider it an investment. There will be a cost, but it’s worth asking yourself, “How much more money can I make?”
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